Page 12 of Claimed By the Sultan

Chapter Four

The gentle rocking woke her.

Bree lay quietly as awareness slowly returned. She opened her eyes and met with a puzzle. Thick curtains surrounded her, walling off a tiny cushioned space. She was curled up on a soft rug, dressed once again in a long flowing robe, this time in a rich aqua shade. The entire space swayed rhythmically, like a berth at sea.

Bree sat up and parted the curtains. Harsh desert sun blinded her. As her eyes adjusted to the bright light, she gasped. Ahead of her stretched an endless line of camels, plodding through a vast sea of sand.She realized the swaying motion was due to the gait of the patient beast carrying her in a compartment on its back.No wonder ancient tribes called them the ships of the desert.

She pulled the curtains apart to get a better view of her surroundings. The sun was fierce, but not yet at its peak in the sky, so she guessed it was late morning. The city of Mahrib and its fertile green fields were nowhere in sight. To her right, a jagged row of dull-brown mountains in the distance baked in the heat. On the left, the windswept dunes of the desert extended as far as the eye could see.

An attendant walked beside each camel, leading it by a length of rope attached to a leather harness slipped over the animal’s head. Despite the crushing heat, the attendants were swathed head to toe in long robes to protect them from the searing rays of the sun. Only their eyes were visible when they turned their heads from side to side, scanning the horizon for dangers that might lie ahead.

Two other heavily robed figures sat on saddles atop a pair of camels directly ahead of her. Despite the shapeless clothing, Bree could tell they were females. She’d learned the difference – the men wore tightly wound turbans on their heads and the women, flowing veils.

Bree sank back against the cushions and let the curtains fall. The temperature inside her enclosure immediately dropped from that of an oven to merely unbearably hot. Her throat was so dry, she could barely swallow.

Tucked into a corner of her padded enclosure, she found a clay jar filled with dates and nuts as well as several goatskin flasks. Eagerly, she grabbed a flask and brought it to her lips. After weeks of living at the dig, Bree was able to ignore the odor of unwashed animal emanating from the container. She took a long swallow. The water bore faint traces of crushed mint leaves, and it felt warm enough to brew tea, but it soothed her parched throat.

She followed it up with a handful of dates and nuts, and a delicacy made of crushed sesame seeds mixed with honey. “It’s ancient trail mix!” she exclaimed aloud. “All that’s missing is the chocolate.” She found herself giggling uncontrollably, probably a lingering effect of the drugs her body had absorbed while being prepared for last night’s ceremony.

Her camel stopped moving, and she heard a soft voice outside the curtain.

“My lady, are you well?”

The curtain opened, and Bree stared into a pair of huge dark eyes. Despite the robes covering the rest of the figure, Bree recognized her as one of the female attendants from the palace who accompanied her to the ceremony. She blushed as memories came flooding back, remembering how the woman had stroked and fondled her body while she moaned and screamed with wild abandon in front of the huge crowd.

The young woman averted her eyes and bowed her head, as though sensing Bree’s discomfort. “Does my lady need a few moments to relieve herself? We will set up the screen that you may do so in privacy. Hassan can help you down from the chaise,” she offered, gesturing to the man who held the camel’s rope.

“Yes, thank you,” Bree replied, embarrassed.

Hassan effortlessly lifted her into his arms and deposited her on the sand. Then he went to the camel trailing behind Bree’s mount and unpacked a screen made of wooden poles lashed together with white cloth strung between them. Within minutes, he erected a rounded enclosure large enough for Bree to fit inside. The walls were high enough to afford her privacy. Even under such bizarre conditions, she found that taking care of bodily functions was so basic, so normal, it helped to shake off the lingering effects of the substance she’d been given.

Many scholars, herself included, theorized that alcoholic drinks and possibly even hallucinogenic plants were used to enhance the dreamlike state participants sought to attain during their rituals. Bree had always been straightlaced and uptight. But after last night, she could say with certainty that at least one ancient civilization had discovered substances capable of drastically altering one’s mood and behavior.

In her thirty-one years she’d only had one serious boyfriend – a disastrous dalliance in graduate school with one of her professors. He dumped her after she confronted him about stealing some of her research and publishing it as his own. She’d thought she was in love with him, and his betrayal and callous treatment afterward made her withdraw even more.

After James, she made certain she was too busy with research and studies to date or even go to bars with girlfriends on Friday nights. She’d never experimented with the drugs that were readily available on campus. She’d never gone on a wild spring break trip or attended a drunken frat party.

Yet last night she’d acted like a slut. She thought back to the procession where she’d been paraded through the streets half naked, and marveled at how she found herself accepting, even participating in the bizarre ceremony that followed.I’m glad this whole thing is just a crazy dream. But it’s sure gotten me hotter than I’ve ever been before.

A snort from the camel dragged her thoughts back to the present. Bree stepped out of the enclosure to find Hassan had rigged up another shelter. The crude tent offered shade from the blistering sun overhead but stood open on two sides to allow the rare wisps of breeze to flow through. Inside the tent, he’d laid out rugs to cover the sand, while Bree’s female companions unpacked water flasks, packets of dried fruit and something that looked and smelled like jerky.

“We will rest here during the heat of the midday sun and resume our journey later,” one of her attendants explained. In the distance, Bree could see similar shelters being erected all along the length of the caravan. A dozen or so animals at the head of the caravan continued along a route that to her seemed invisible.

The young woman answered Bree’s question before she could ask it.

“They will move on for several hours before stopping to rest. By the time we catch up with them tonight, they will have our camp set up and preparations for the evening meal underway.”

“Have you traveled with a caravan before?” Bree asked.

“My sister Yesha and I made the journey from the kingdom of King Menelek with our father Raheem. He was a gift from the king to his twin sister Rahina, your mother. Although we were very young, the memory of that journey will be etched in my mind forever.”

Yesha spoke up. “Has my lady forgotten the story of how we came to be in your service?”

Remembering Shiraza’s warning to tell no one of her strange situation, Bree made up an excuse. “I am still feeling the effects of the drink I had last night. It left my head in a fog, and I cannot think clearly.”

The woman nodded. “That is a common reaction. It is indeed a powerful potion. Please, my lady, lie down and rest. I will mix you a potion to take away any lingering effects of the sacred drink. While I do, if it pleases my lady, Alina can tell you the story once again.”

Bree nodded gratefully. Anything she found out might keep her from making a serious mistake when dealing with these strangers who seemed to know her so well. Already she’d learned their names.

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